


Double Negative

by Hawkscape



Category: Dead Space (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Fights, Gen, Hallucinations, Mental Instability, Monsters, Pain, Starvation, Video Game Mechanics, no overt romance but it's obvs mr.oc is super gay for isaac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24710335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkscape/pseuds/Hawkscape
Summary: On his way through a necromorph infested Titan Station, Isaac finds a monster that seems more coherent then the others and doesn't seem to want to hurt him. Is this a new ally? Which one of them is more dangerous to the other?
Relationships: Isaac Clarke & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 18





	Double Negative

Isaac thought nothing could surprise him anymore. He had seen people become monsters, his dead girlfriend kept popping up and hissing at him, and now he had to go destroy another marker that he had apparently made. All while trying to keep the only two other people here with him alive. He was trying to meet up with both Ellie and Stross at the next hub, but the last few times they had tried this plan it had ended in some combination of giant creatures attacking them or the room suddenly depressurized. He had to go through more residential areas before reaching the hub which was a mixed bag. It meant he'd probably find more items but also many more necromorphs of poor people who hadn't even made it out of their homes before being transformed. He popped a used and still smoking cartridge out of his line gun and reloaded it while walking up to the door leading into the residential sector. He took a deep breath and tensed up once more as he opened it, listening intently for sounds of necromorphs. He could hear them in the vents but there was a chance they hadn't heard him yet. 

Isaac scanned around every corner but came up with nothing. Despite all the rooms being the same layout, they were all still personalized to who used to live there. He almost wished they weren't. Stuffed animals. Pill bottles on bedside tables. Pictures on the walls. The pictures were the worst. He didn't even look at them anymore. He didn't have time. He couldn't afford it emotionally or physically. He found some health packs and parts he could use to craft with later. Not very much. He wondered if he should just skip checking the other rooms and if any time he would waste in them would even be worth it. He was about to say forget it and book it to the next hub but as he checked his HUD for the route, he heard something.

He hunched over and ducked into a doorway, trying to pinpoint the sound. It sounded like it was coming from one of the still closed rooms he hadn't checked. It didn't sound like the weird squelching that the necromorphs usually made, and instead just sounded like random knocks and bangs. He made sure his line gun was locked and loaded before stepping up to the door and opening it. He could see the place was trashed much like the rest of the rooms, but this room looked more methodical than just a mess that was made while some unfortunate person was being attacked and turned. He could hear the banging noise getting louder. It seemed to be coming from the small kitchen just off the bedroom. Whatever was there hadn't noticed him yet. Something rolled out from the kitchen and past him. It looked like...an empty soda can? He peered around the corner and wasn't quite sure what he was seeing. It looked like a necromorph with two long insectoid arms coming from its back. Unlike others of this type this one seemed to also still have its regular human arms. Oddest of all, it seemed to be trying to open a food can of some kind.

Isaac was about to shoot it before it noticed him, but before he could the thing turned and it was too late. It noticed him and suddenly dropped the can, backing up with a gasp. Issac let out a similar breath of shock at the appearance of the necromorph. Its face still looked mostly human. The eyes looked dark and there were too many of them and there were insectoid mandibles around its mouth, but it was still recognisable as a face, which was much more than could be said for any other monsters Isaac had seen. He hesitated pulling the trigger as the thing’s appearance had caught him off guard and the way it cowered from him was atypical. It seemed to fold into itself and cover his face with both his human arms and insectoid ones. Isaac didn't shoot, but he didn’t lower his weapon. Was this a new type? Lull you into a false sense of security and then attack?

The thing opened a few of its eyes to peer through its arms. It’s throat seemed to work hard and Isaac tensed for it to start spitting acid at him but what came out of its throat was something much different. Some viscous liquid bubbled out but not at the projectile speed he was used to. “D-don’t shoot.”

Isaac froze. Did this thing talk? Could it mimic speech? Or was his mind just playing tricks on him, hearing things that weren't there? 

The things arms relaxed but it didn't drop them. More liquid coated its chin and dripped down into the floor. “Are you human?”

Isaac didn't know how to respond. Was this thing intelligent? Could necromorphs even have any kind of intelligence aside from the hivemind? He licked his lips, his voice crackling through his suit’s filter. “Unlike you.”

At his speech, the necromorph perked up all of its eyes opening and coming out from behind it’s arms completely, though they were still curled close to it. “Oh my god, you don't know how glad I am to see you.” It tried to take a step towards Isaac, but the mechanic tensed up once more and reaffirmed his gun stance. The necromorph stopped and backed up again quickly. “Ah sorry, sorry, please don’t shoot me. I just…” It cleared its throat with more ooze. “I thought everyone else was dead. There's nothing but those monsters out there. It has something to do with that marker. There's this statue thing, it's all twisty and it’s big and drawing everyone towards it. It’s bad. It’s going to do something bad. We have to get out of here.”

This was nothing Isaac didn't already know. What he didn't know was what this guy was. He looked it up and down. “What are you?”

The guy looked down at himself. “Oh no, I’m not…” He let out a weird chirping sound from his mandibles. “I'm not like the monsters I swear, I just look like this. I got attacked by one of them and then I passed out and had a weird dream and woke up like this. And now this thing keeps whispering to me and I’m trying to ignore it, but it’s telling me all this information about the ‘marker’ and the ‘convergence’. I don't know if it can be stopped. I think we need to leave. Well, really it wants me to get close to it, but I don't trust it, so leaving is probably actually the best thing.”

Not hearing anyone say more than three insane sentences to him at a time for such a long time and then having this guy literally word vomit at him was quite a sudden switch for Isaac. The thing looked oddly anxious and also hopeful. “No one just half turns like this. What makes you so different? Were you part of the Unitologists?”

The thing shook its head. “No man, I stayed away from those guys, seemed really culty to me, but I don't like to judge. I don't know why I'm like this. Honestly, I'm kind of used to ignoring the shit voices in my head tell me to do.”

Was this guy out of it like Stross? It must have sensed his tension and shook his head more fiercely, causing his mandibles to clatter. “I’m not crazy! I- well, I mean...I wasn't crazy? I mean I had mental illness but it’s-..I learned how to deal with it. Coping mechanisms you know? Intrusive thoughts. Even if it feels like it’s you, it's not you, so you just ignore it. Thoughts are just thoughts. Or I mean...maybe you don't know...I don't know…” It got quite suddenly and looked down at the floor, not meeting Isaac's eyes.

Isaac hoped he wouldn't regret this as he lowered his gun. The necromorph finally relaxed it’s shoulders and put it’s hands down. He sighed and fidgeted slightly. “Um...thanks. For not shooting me. I appreciate it.” It looked around awkwardly again. “Do you have a name? Or a face?” 

Isaac figured he was already this far as he deactivated his helmet. “Isaac Clarke. Mechanic.” 

The necromorph seemed shocked by his face. If Isaac was reading it’s - his - ‘face’ right. “Wow, you’re perfect.” Isaac wasn't sure if the monster was blushing or if his face just turned the color sometimes. The monster quickly backtracked. “I mean, uh, I just met you don’t look like me. Which is good. Because I look horrible. I mean, I assume. My vision is not exactly, eeehhh, normal? I think I'm seeing in like...infrareds or ultra violets or maybe heat signatures. I'm not sure. I’m definitely not seeing normal. Oh, uh.” He extended ones of his human hands making Issac almost reach for his gun again at the suddenness. “My name is, uh…” The guys stalled for a second hand still outstretched. “Um..I, hah, can't really...remember...it’s all...staticy” He looked at his own hand sheepishly and retracted it. “You probably don't want to shake my hand anyway, ha. Everything's pretty...sticky.” Isaac looked around in the room and into the kitchen with the food cans scattered everywhere. “Maybe just call me, uh..Ned? I don't feel like that's my name but it sounds kind of like a necromorph so it should be easy to remember. I think that’s what those things are called. Like I said, staticy.”  
Isaac had mostly tuned out whatever this guy saw saying by now as he picked up one of the food cans. It seemed to just be a regular can of rations. He turned to his new acquaintance and shook the can. “Why are you trying to open cans of rations?”

The newly christened Ned perked up. “Oh yeah, ever since I woke up I've been really hungry. Like a kind of gnawing ever present type deal. I get the impression from whatever this marker thing is that I'm supposed to be eating people but, I mean, there aren’t a lot of people around…” Isaac tensed and Ned put his hands up reassuringly. “Also that’s gross and I would never do that. Um, really I think I could also eat other parts of dead necromorphs but I don't know if that's worse than the human thing or not, so I was just trying to find some actual food food to eat but everything's locked in these cans that I can't open because everything is either sticky, slippery, or both and I am not having the best time with fine motor skills at the moment.” He rubbed his human hands and insectoid limbs together before continuing to talk. “Is your gun actually a plasma cutter? Could you maybe, uh, cut open some cans for me? If you wanted, I mean, I don't want to waste amo, you probably need that.”

Isaac decided that if it was between this guy eating him and wasting a few ammos shots, he would use the ammo. He quickly burnt off the top of all the cans he could find in plain sight. Even if this guy rambled a lot, there seemed to be bits of information and insights on why the necromorphs and the marker did what they did buried in him. He still wasn't sure he trusted the guy, but as the smell of plasma cooked food wafted through the room he couldn't help but get the impression of a large puppy as the insects eyes got big as they followed the cans.

He opened the last can and stepped back, waiting for the guy to come take them. He didn't. “...You going to come get them?”

The guy suddenly snapped out of his hypnosis at the food and jittered forward. “Oh yeah, no, sorry, I just didn't want to spook you again and maybe have you shoot me? Thank you a lot. Thanks a lot for this, by the way.” He picked up one of the cans and shoveled the stuff into his mouth at an alarming rate. The mandibles lunged forward to grab it. He had seen much grosser abominations in the past few hours, but since he didn't have to see this one he decided to turn away from it, convinced the guy wouldn't attack him while eating. He heard the crinkling of metal and saw cans being systematically crunched up and dropped to the floor. It seemed like the guy was done as he turned back to him. “Ah, much better. Okay Isaac, let's get out of here.”

Isaac put his helmet back on. He didn't know how he felt about leading this half infected slightly unstable guy to anything even remotely resembling civilisation. It would be hard enough having Stross and Ellie not kill him on sight. He seemed like he could be a valuable asset though. “We can't go back the way we came. We need to go towards the maker and destroy it if we want to get out of here.” 

He turned to leave but the guy seemed to squawk as he followed behind him hunched over. “C-closer to it? Destroy it? Can that be done? I mean...it seems like it wants you to go closer to it so you should definitely not do that, but it also doesn't want you to destroy it so you should definitely do that. It’s...conflicting.”

The guys voice was raising and they were back in the open now causing Isaac to turn around quickly. “Look, as far as I can see, it's the only option to even hope to get out of here alive. If you want to travel with me, I can’t stop you, but you need to be quiet so the necromorphs won't hear us.”

Ned didn't seem to like the idea but he nodded anyway, falling into step behind. He started to whisper. “None of them ever seemed to bother me and I made some real ruckus. I hope that keeps happening but you, uh, smell really noticeable.” He started to back track again, almost yell whispering. “I mean you don't smell bad, but you don't smell like a necromorph. You’re kind of like, to metallic and fresh? But not blood metallic like...metal metallic.” Isaac turned his head to look back at him. “Sorry, I’ll be quiet now.” It was useful to know how the necromorphs hunted but he had the feeling it wouldn't help him too much at the moment. For now it was better for both of them to shut up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

They had been traveling for a while now and it looked like Ned’s hope about warding off other necromorphs was holding true but then a tell tale scream and hiss sound came from in front of them as they walked through the industrial access tunnel they had slipped into to try and get to the hub faster. Isaac took out the ones running towards him easily enough with the line gun but turned around to find Ned being menaced by one that had snuck up from behind. The thing seemed to be less trying to hurt Ned and more trying to get through him to Isaac. Ned was trying to simply hold it at bay with no small amount of disgust. “Isaac! Shoot it, shoot it!” Black bile poured from his mouth in anxiety. 

Isaac tried to use his plasma cutter to get a bead on the things arms but he couldn't. “It’s moving too much, get out of the way!”

Ned panictly looked at Isaac before his eyes widened. “Isaac, loo-” The rest of his sentence was cut off by a hellish shrek as Isaac turned to see a towering necromorph had turned up behind him while he was looking at Ned. He tried to raise his weapon but he got swatted off of his feet before he could. He tried to get his bearings again but as he was still looking down to brace himself on the ground as he heard a wet, gurgling shriek and the tearings of limbs.

He looked up, unsure of what he'd see to find Ned covered in even more visera then before and holding a limb in his human hand. The attacking necromorphs were a few limbs lighter and they both fell to the ground in piles. Ned was breathing heavily as the black sludge from his mouth bubbled uneasily. He looked at the limb in its hand and quickly dropped it in a fumble. “Ah! Uh.” He looked at Isaac. “You okay?” the limbs on his back twitched in worry.

Isaac breathed heavily into his respirator and slowly got up. Ned held out his hand to help him up and Isaac took it without thinking. He got yanked up onto his feet sharply. No wonder this guy was able to tear their limbs off. “Yeah. I’m good.” He waited a stretch, looking at the man’s face and not sure what eye he should be looking at. He lets go of his hand. “You?”

His eyes all blinked out of unison. “Me? Well I got them pretty quick so I don't think they got me.” He smiled which looked unnatural around his mandible but Issac just took it for what it was and moved on. His expression turned. “Kind of hurt my brain though.” Isaac didn't say anything but Ned could read his head tilt. “It kind of hurt me to hurt them. Not physically but, like, phantom pains. It's fine though, now, because they’re dead.” He said it with a disconcerting chipperness.

Isaac turned his attention to the bodies, stomping open their rib cages to get at the ammo inside. Ned made a small sound next to him, but said nothing. “That hurt you?”

He shook his head. “Oh no, no they're already dead so no. I just uh, was wondering if I have some kind of tchotchke inside my chest. Wonder what I’d drop if you killed me.” Isaac looked at him again. “It's a fair question.” He defended.

Isaac shook his head and kept walking. “I’m not going to kill you unless you try to kill me.”

Ned stood in shock before following after him. “Thanks! I knew you wouldn't but it's nice to hear you say it. Same goes for you.” He did another sharp mandible grin again and Isaac tried to ignore it, just focusing on the corridor ahead and listening for more necromorphs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They continued walking through the tunnels for a while, fighting any errant necromorphs they came across and reactivating light and power panels so they could keep going. Isaac found himself having to babysit Ned less and less as he got the hang of quickly tearing off limbs. It was much easier fighting with someone else then alone. He could actually focus fully on fixing the panels and trust Ned to watch out for any monsters while he did it. Having a partner also stopped him from spiraling into his own mind and listening to the whispers too much as well as giving him physical support.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Ned. He was somehow getting even more twitchy as they went along. His eyes were always going in different directions and his ticks that just betrayed nervousness before now took on a more scared animal quality to them combined with his increasing habit of getting lost in thought, making Isaac have to bring him back. He was also accruing more and more injuries. He never sustained more than a few scrapes every fight, but over time they were building up and it was starting to impede him. The same black substance that flowed from his mouth was starting to leak from several holes in his back and chest and one of his back arms seemed stuck. The half monster also kept looking longer and longer at the necromorph bodies as they passed.

It finally came to a head when Isaac was walking down the hall listening for any necromorphs and noticed he could only hear one set of footsteps. He stopped and looked back to see Ned hunched into himself and staring at a dead necromorph propped up against the wall. He stared transfixed as more black goo then normal leaked from his mouth. He really hoped whatever was happening wasn't going to end with him having to shoot Ned. He would if he had to, but he hoped he wouldn't have to. He didn't have many things to hope for anymore. “Ned?”

The man snapped all his limbs tight against him except for the stuck one which just twitched. He looked at Isaac as his eyes focused. “Ah. Sorry. Got distracted.”

“Yeah. You’re getting distracted a lot. Voices getting to you?” He said it warily, but without judgment. They were getting louder for him too as they got closer and closer to the marker.

Ned looked sad. “...Y-yes.” He waved his hands. “B-but don't worry, I can handle it. I promise, don’t- don’t leave me behind.” He stepped forward before stopping. Isaac didn't flinch back.

“Hey, long as you don't attack me remember. I promised.” He wasn't used to having to reassure people. Even before all this happened he wasn't that good at it.

Ned nodded. “...Yeah okay. Don't worry I’m okay.” His back arm twitched. “Just kind of hungry.”

Isaac hummed. “We’re pretty out of the residential district right now. We’d have to detour out of the pipes to see if we could find anyplace with food. Want to try a health pack? I haven't eaten in hours and I still feel fine so I think they might have some hunger numbing properties. Also it might help your…” He nodded to Ned’s back limb.

Ned blinks at it like it was a surprise. “Oh wow, I didn't even notice that. I’m kind of banged up aren't I? Uh...I don't know if that would work.” Isaac didn't know either, it was why he hadn’t offered sooner. “And I don't want to take it from you if you need it.”

Isaac reached into a compartment on his suit and pulled out the smallest heal he had and tossed it to the man, who grabbed it awkwardly. “Here, it's the smallest dose. See if it works.”

Ned took it hesitantly. He flipped the top off the cap and looked at the blue gel. He hesitantly scooped some out on his fingers. It felt tingly, but that might have been normal. He looked at himself and noticed the puncture wounds on his chest. He grimaced and quickly put some of the gel on the wound. It was fine for a moment before it started to burn and then burn horribly. He hissed and dropped the container, splatting the blue gel on the floor. He frantically tried to rub the gel off but it kept trying to soak in and the wound was now bubbling even more black goo. Isaac didn't know what to do. “I can’t get it off! It burns!” He sounded almost in tears. 

Isaac held his shoulder. “Hold on, I can try to evaporate it with the plasma, but you have to stay still or I'll burn you.”

Ned nodded his head and Isaac charged up a round without actually firing it, just holding it close enough to the gel and black goo mixture until it bubbled and burned off. He was careful not to get it too close, it was actually surprising how well the jittery man held still even if he was still making pitiful sounds. He looked around for any more of the translucent blue material but couldn't see any. “Did I get it all?” Ned breathed shakily and nodded. Isaac let go and stepped back, surveying him more. It was odd how quickly he stopped seeing him as a monster and started seeing him as just Ned. And Ned looked bad. “Sorry. Should have known that wouldn't work.”

Ned shrugged and smiled, but still curled in on himself as if in pain. “It’s fine. Neither of us knew.” His frantic energy just seemed tired now. “Let’s just keep going.” He looked around one last time and caught sight of another dead necromorph, tensing up.  
Isaac followed his eyes. “Hey.” The man looked at him as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. “You’re not going to end up like that.” They both knew he couldn't promise that, but it seemed to help.  
Ned nodded. “Oh no, that's not why-...nevermind. We have to keep going.”  
Issac let it drop and they continued walking down the corridor, side by side so Isaac could make sure he didn't fall behind. He was promising a lot of things he couldn't deliver today, but he would still try.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They finally got to the end of the tunnel and dropped down into an elevator. Ned a little more awkwardly, but still mostly okay. Isaac checked his map before opening the door. “Okay, the areas are going to get a lot more open from here which means more places to hide and more necromorphs at once so keep your concentration, you can't be zoning out.”

Ned nodded seriously and Isaac did too. The human took a breath before he hit the pad to open the door and the whole place turned the tell tale red of one of his episodes. He tensed up, not having one of these in a while. He thought that maybe traveling with someone else might stop it, but apparently not. The mechanic only hoped the hallucinations didn't make him do something he didn't mean to. “Ned?”

“Y-yeah?”

He swallowed as he hesitantly made his way forward into the red corridor that seemed to shimmer. “Watch out and tell me if you see any necromorphs.”

“Yeah, okay. No problem.”

Isaac stepped forward wary of what he knew was about to happen. He rounded the corner slowly. Nothing. There were lockers on his left side. He knew he shouldn't, but he needed all the supplies he could get. He took a deep breath and pulled open one of the metal doors.

“Hello Isaac.” Came the distorted voice of Nicole as she started to climb out of the locker. He quickly tried to close the locker but she was too strong. Finally, he felt something else help him close it and saw it was Ned. They both finally shut the locker but she was still banging on from the inside.

“Who is this lady?”

Isaac started. “You can see her?”

Ned blinked. “Yes?

“But she's a hallucination.”

Ned looks nervous. “Uh, I see...a lot of hallucinations. Here. In the station”

“But she's MY hallucination.”

“She's actually- ah!” Nicole tries to punch out again but Ned pushes back. “She's coming from the marker, not your own mind. Well, the markers kind of being filtered through your mind. It's a weird feedback loop. Hard to explain. Point is, yes, I can see her.”

Isaac rolled his eyes behind his helmet. “Great, now neither of us will be able to see if a necromorph sneaks up on us like thi-ah!” 

A final push from inside knocked them both off of the door and against the far wall. All the lockers flew open, but Nicole wasn't inside, instead it was a mass of insectoid arms and tentacles. Nicole finally showed herself by crawling out of the mass towards them. “He's going to kill you Isaac. You’re only keeping him around because you’re lonely. He’s going to eat you. You’re so hungry, aren't you Ned?” She cracked her neck towards him.

Ned whimpered and tried to press himself back into the wall. “No, no, no, no...” He kept repeating the mantra as he put his hands in his mouth to bite on. “Won't. Not a monster. Not real.”

The chorus of whispers around them reached a fever pitch. They seemed to say ‘Shoot him’ and ‘Eat him’ at the same time somehow, directed at them separately.

The mechanic tried to ignore it and walked forward to try and help Ned but then he felt Nicole grab his arm and move it so he was holding his plasma gun against the half monster’s neck. “No!” He used his other hand to push against it and tried to make his hand go limp to drop the gun, but it was locked.

“Shoot him! Eat him! Shoot him! Eat him!”

Isaac grunted and tried to push against the hallucination. “Ned. Run.” Ned looked at him in fear and then sadness before coiling like a spring and before Isaac could react he kicked Isaacs legs out from under him and the man fell backwards, shooting off a round before he hit the ground hard. He heard the odd hissing of flesh being coderized and a screeching sound. He immediately attempted to get up but his head was spinning. As he blinked and tried to get his vision working again the corridor became a pale whitish blue once again and all tentacles and ghosts dissipated. “Hng.” He tried to sit up as his head swam. “Ned?” He finally found the man leaning against the wall grabbing at his shoulder. One of his back arms was twitching violently as it leaked black sludge. “Ned!” He scrambled over to him. He must have hit it when his gun went off.

He knelt by the man. “I’m so sorry. I tried to fight it. Why didn't you run-” Ned turned to him and snarled, black sludge pouring from from his mouth. Isaac's heart dropped as he scrambled to find his gun. He must have dropped it when he fell. His heart went into his throat. Ned stopped and blinked at him stopping himself. He seemed to realise what he had done and sagged against the wall again looking away from Isaac, seemingly not caring if the man finished the job or not.

Isaac reached for the gun slowly and hesitated before putting it away. “I’m getting close to you now, okay?” Ned didn't look at him but nodded. He got closer and knelt by him. “I’ll go and try to find you some food okay? Will that help you heal?”

Ned grimaced and looked at him before looking away again. “Just leave me. I don't want to break my promise. I don't want to eat you. Not you.” He tried to get up. Isaac stood up himself and held out his hand. Ned looked at it and hesitated before he looked away and didn't take it, getting up shakily on his own. Issac put his hand down. He had to admit, he didn't think he would be the one to attack Ned first. He had promised.

Ned took a shaky breath as he steadied himself, still holding onto his shoulder where his stump was twitching. “...Please leave. I’m not going to survive this anyway. I’m one of them.” Isaac didn't move. The parasite snarled. “I could make you leave. I could attack you so you'd have to leave.” Isaac didn’t reach for his gun and didn't move. Ned seemed agitated as his stump and remaining insect arm twitched. He sighed. “...Fine. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Isaac protested. “Hell no I’m not letting you go anywhere alone like that, especially if I don't know what you’re doing.”

Ned breathed through his mouth, the first sigh of real defiance and anger on his face as his sharp teeth spread. “Fine, Isaac, I need to go cannibalize someone. You want to watch that? Want to watch me tear one of these things apart with my teeth? See that I'm not human? Because, to be honest with you, I can't actually remember what being human felt like! Maybe once you'll see it you'll finally. Leave. Me. Alone!” He snarled at Isaac and the black bile from his mouth splattered on the man's armor. He couldn't read the man's expressions through the glowing helmet of the suit. Didn't even reach for his gun. Silence fell around them as neither of them moved. “Fine! Fine, suit yourself.” He turned and began stalking down the hallways, seemingly knowing where he was going. Isaac followed him and took out his gun. He told himself it wasn't for Ned. Ned didn't care if it was.

He moved down the hall and after a few more turns got to a door. It was half open and broken, a slit between the two doors to small to slide through. Ned didn't even slow as he got to the door and took his remaining limbs to force it open. He stepped through and the door closed behind him. He looked back and even through the helmet and the multiple eyes he knew they were locking eyes. They both realised Ned could just leave him there. The engineer might be able to fix the door and follow him, but he could be long gone by then. Ned looked forward and then back at Isaac. Isaac could almost see his mind working. “Ned don't-”

A horrible screeching sound came from the wall beside Ned. The well burst open and a necromorph crawled out of it, appendages scrambling outward as it tried to claw its way out of the wall. It completely disregarded Ned and instead it tried to lunge towards Isaac through the cracked open door. Isaac raised his weapon to shoot it, but then he heard a screech and the thing was thrown back into the wall. Ned snarled at it and the thing screeched back as it dug one of its sharp knife-like limbs into Ned’s shoulder. Ned didn't seem to notice it as he took the opportunity to grab the limb and tear it off with a horrible wrending of flesh and bone. Isaac wanted to help but he was frozen by watching the skittish man suddenly act so animalistically. He was losing it. Losing him.

His eye caught the console and quickly went to work trying to fix it, but his mind was still occupied listening to the fight happening though he couldn't see it from this angle. He finally connected the last wire and hit the open button with his fist, causing the door to lerch open enough for him to slide through. Didn't have to be perfect, it just had to work. He ran to slip through but stopped as he saw the scene before him.

Ned had killed the necromorph and was eating it. A horrible crunching noise pervaded the air as he ripped apart the joints to get to the meat. It almost reminded Issac of how people ate crab legs, but infinitely more horrific. The teeth illogically snapping through bone and tissue alike as it ate the thing that used to be alive assaulted his senses. He had seen many horrifying things since he'd woken up, but this was the first thing that made him want to throw up since he first stepped on the Ishimura and saw the first bodies. Ned had said it but this was so much worse. Seeing it. Realising he'd been looking at the dead necromorphs in hunger and not fear all this time. He wanted to throw up but he knew all that was in his stomach was acid and whatever the medpacks were pumping into him so he just turned his head away, trying to drown out the sounds.

Eventually they finally stopped and he could feel the man's eyes on him. He turned back to the scene to see Ned looking physically healthy but otherwise devastated. His arm had grown back and various parts of him were shifting and reforming themselves, patching up holes and injuries. He looked shiny and new and utterly disgusted. He dropped the half eaten arm he was holding and took a step back, looking sadly at Isaac. He rubbed some of the viscera off his mouth.

Isaac could tell what he was about to do again. “Ned wait-!” He reached through the door but the half alien had already turned and was running. He quickly squeezed his way through the half open door, not even stopping to loot the dead necromorph as he passed. The end of the hallways opened up to a big room.

Shit, where did he go? He checked his map, looking for a place the man might go. Knowing him he'd probably find some room and hide there. He clicked the map off and looked around trying to find some traces of black bile he could follow that were fresh. “Ned!” He took two steps before his com buzzed.

“Isaac? Issac! Can you hear us? Are you almost at the hub?”

“Ellie? You and Stross still okay?” He spoke, but scanned the room while he did it. It was back to him having to look out for everything again. He felt the voices dig at his brain like spikes from the highest paranoia. He had to find Ned fast, for both their sakes.

“Yes. we're both alive for now, but we won't be for long if you don't get here. What’s taking you so long? It says you still have an entire sector to go.”

Isaac scanned all the alcoves he came across and checked his map. Storage closet. Even if Ned wasn't there it would be a good place to stock up on supplies. He heard a gurgling sound to his left and shone his light to see several necromorphs that he double checked were not Ned before he opened fire on. Line gun took them out quickly. “Just hold on a little bit longer. Found another survivor but he ran. Trying to find him again now.” He clicked out his cartridge, falling back into the rhythm of doing this alone. Reload, check, check map, check surroundings, look behind you, look in the dark corners, listen, repeat. 

“Another survivor? Who? How did he survive this long?”

Isaac turned in time to see several more necromorphs busting out of the walls and took them out before turning to see several more behind him and burning through their limbs too, popping out the smoking carriage as he kept moving. “He’s half turned. I don't know how but he's only half necromorph. He actually acts less crazy than Stross.”

Ellie spluttered on the other side of the com. “Half necromorph? He could turn fully at any moment Isaac, leave him.”

He stepped into the radius of a cyst and hissed slightly as it exploded and burned into his suit. “Ah fuck.” He had to slow down, he wasn't going to help anyone if he got himself killed. “No Ellie I've been traveling with him for a while and he doesn't want to hurt me. And he knows things about the marker. He’s connected to the hivemind. He might be able to tell us how to stop it.”

Ellie hummed unhappily. “Fine. But if I see anything that looks like a necromorph coming towards me I'm going to shoot it. Just get to the hub, were running out of ti-” 

Stross cut into the feed. “Don't skip steps! He’s half dead and skips steps.”

Ellie pushed him out of the way. “Stross is getting worse, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep him around. If he turns on me I’m shooting him too. It's nearly a straight shot. See you soon.”

Isaac didn’t respond before the feed cut out and he was left alone in silence again, with only the creaking of the ship and the far away sound of necromorphs. He finally killed the last of the cysts and was left totally alone. He quitted his breathing and kept moving, assessing his options. He could keep looking for Ned or he could go to the hub. He would just check the storage closet and then leave. He knew he was lying, but he let himself lie for now.

The place seemed cleared for now as he got to the storage closet. There were black smears and handprints on the door that made his heart jump for a second. The door opened automatically and he saw the abyss of darkness within as he clicked on his helmet light. He stepped in and the door closed behind him. He couldn't hear anything. “Ned?” He scanned the small room, shelves obscuring his line of sight. He took a few steps and picked up some ammo and heath that his light glinted off of. It also shined off the drips of black good but after he went through the whole room and turned the last corner, he found nothing. He wasn't here. His shoulders fell.

Then he noticed the largest pool of blackness on the floor. Did something happen to him here? He stepped forward and looked around but then he felt something hit his helmet. He lifted his glove to it and it came away black. He stilled and looked up slowly to the ventilation grate above him. The light showed off the man's pitch black eyes and glistening teeth as the black goo dripped from the grate. They both stared at each other, each too afraid to spook the other.

Then something broke through the door to the storage room. Isaac turned and readied his gun. It was a burster. If he tried to shoot it now he'd get caught in the radius. He looked up at Ned again, pleading with him through the mask. The man grimaced before he forced open the grate. “Give me your hand.” Isaac did and was forcefully pulled into the vent just in time before the thing could reach him. He breathed heavily as he was face to face with Ned, the harsh light making him look even more horrifying. They stared at each other again.

“...Ned.”

“Issac.”

He noticed they were still connected by his hands. Ned tried to pull away but Issac didn't let him. He knew Ned was strong enough to break out of his grip but he also knew he wouldn't hurt him.

“We need to get to the hub. Stross and Ellie are waiting.”

“..I-I cant-” He didn't finish his thought, fairly obvious all the things he couldn't do.

“You promised. And I promised.”

He shook his head. “I don't remember what I promised anymore.”

“Look.” He clicked off his mask, seeing Ned flinch back from his presence. “Everything's gone to hell. Normal social conventions don't apply. If you need to eat some of these things to keep yourself alive, then do it. Two people working together is better than one. We need to move, Tiedemann is shutting down the station behind us and we need to get to the monorail. If we get to the marker and destroy it, it might get you back to normal and all the things you know about the hive mind might be able to help us do that. We can do this together. Will you stay with me?”

His heavy breathing echoed through the cramped air vent. With his helmet off Issac could fully smell the decay and rot coming off of the other man but he didn't flinch. He had learned that not doing something could have the same impact as doing something. Maybe even more so.

He squeezed the hand still connecting them pointedly. “Ned?”

His eyes blinked smoothly across his face, looking at seemingly everything. “...Okay.” He stared all of his eyes at Isaacs. “But you have to promise you'll take me down if I try to hurt you.”

“If you promise not to run away again.”

Ned made a small clickling whining noise with his mandibles. “Fine.” Isaac gave him a small smile and he turned that odd color again as he clicked his mandibles.

“Good.” He clicked his helmet back on. “Now.” He clicked on his map, letting it light up the air vent. “It's a straight shot to the hub. If we keep moving we can get there with no problem, especially if you can use that door forcing trick. Why didn't you use that earlier?”

Ned looked sheepish. “I don't actually know how strong I am. Sorry.”

He clicked off his map. “Well we know now. Let's get going.”

Ned nodded and they both made their way out of the vent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac checked his map again. “Okay, hub should be through this door. This is where a lot of them usually congregate so be prepared.”

Ned nodded and readied his knifelike back arms. Isaac nodded back and opened the door. They walked carefully forward, Isaac taking the front and Ned making sure nothing snuck up behind them. Isaac tried his com. “Ellie. We’re here.”

“Isaac!” He looked up to see Ellie and Stross on the upper level. “Behind you!”

Isaac looked behind him but only saw Ned. He quickly raised his hands so that Ellie wouldn't try to shoot him. Ned cowered behind him and Stross cowered behind Ellie. “Don't shoot! This is the guy I told you about. He's one of us.” Ellie didn't lower her gun.

Ned looked out from behind him and waved one of his human's hands and one of his insectoid ones. “Hello. I’m Ned.”

Ellie seemed disgusted. but she put down her gun. Stross peaked out but didn't move out from behind him. Ellie shrugged off one of his hands. “Get offa me.” Stross coward back but did as he was told. She looked Ned up and down again. “I even think you're turning on us and you’re gone.”

Ned nodded vigorously. “Oh yes of course. please do.”

Isaac kept himself between then. “He’s saved me a few times now. I trust him.” Both Ellie and Ned gave him looks of skepticism. “Let's get to the tra-”

The felt a huge tremor go through the ship. Ellie readied her gun. “Oh great what is it this time?”

She got her answer when various fleshy tentacles burst through doors and entryways and necromorphs started bursting through the floor and ceiling panels.

“Fuck!”

“Shit.”

“Ah!”

Issae made sure his line gun was topped up. “Ellie, take Stross and get to the train. Me and Ned will cover you.”

Ellie hesitated before grabbing Stross. “Don't sacrifice yourself heroically, we might need your help to get the train running again.” She gave one last wary look at Ned before starting to run.

Isaac took the legs off a few necromorphs and Ned cut off several fleshy tentacles trying to get to close. Isaac popped the cartridge. “Stay on my six and keep moving.” Ned nodded and they fell back into the rhythm they had before. “They’re not going to stop. We have to make a break for it. Run for the doors to the loading dock on three. Ready?”

Ned flit some of his eyes around to make sure he knew where the door was but still kept most of his eyes on the attacking monsters. “Yeah.”

“One. Three!” Isaac turned and started booking it towards the door. Ned made a screech again as he scrambled after him, dodging slashes and tentacles. He was not the steadiest but he was fast and able to keep up with Isaac even with the man's head start.

Until he felt something wrap around his leg and he lurched forward. “Ah!” He slammed onto the cold steel floor and grunted as his overly sharp teeth clacked together. His eyes defocused before he was able to lock onto Isaac again who had made it very far even in that few seconds since he was grabbed. He got pulled into the air violently by his leg. “Is-” He was about to call out but stopped himself. If he turned back now, he'd get swarmed. So he clapped his teeth shut again and he grimaced before turning to try and loosen the thing around his legs. He tried to stab at it with his sharp limbs while also pulling at it in his fingers, but it was too slippery and the tentacle seemed to have folded in on itself in one whole mass.

“Ned!” He looked up to see Isaac who looked so small in the far away doorway, apparently having turned back to see if he was following him.

“Just g-” Before he could get out his heroic request the tentacle around his legs whipped him around and he went flying towards the mechanic. He hit the man centermass and even his reinforced suit wasn't enough to keep them from both flying backwards into the small corridor. Isaac went down and stayed down but Ned continued to roll and skidded to a halt several more feet down the corridor.

Ned’s body tried to get up but his head kept spinning. He felt someone grab under his arm and his head swiveled to see the glowing grates of Isaac's helmet. 

“Come on!”

He managed to get his mouth to work. “The door!”

“They'll get past it anyway.”

He got his legs under him a bit more and started going where Isaac pushed him. The corridor opened up into the train station. “Over here!” They looked over to the hanging car where Ellie was waving out. They made their way over, Ned triped inside and sat down heavily against the opposite side of the car, Isaac limped inside and made his way to the control panel. Ned also noticed he was holding his shoulder oddly, wincing as he moved. Ned stood up against the wall and noticed blood that was different than normal necromorph blood on his back arm. It smelled like Isaac. He recoiled from it and flicked his leg slightly to try and get the blood off. When he was thrown he must have accidently embedded the sharp appendage. He gripped at what was left of his shirt at his shoulder nervously as he bit his lip as his stomach fell.

Ellie was splitting her attention between watching everyone. Stross was watching a hallucination that was rather unpleasant and he was trying to ignore. A woman and child were yelling stuff about eyes and needles that itched at the necromorph part of him. A key to unlocking something. He shook his head and went to move forward, to ask if he could help with something. Ellie's eyes flashed and went to stop him from doing whatever he was doing but then the train lurched forward and then stalled.

Isaac cursed. “Why isn't it-” It lurched backwards again. He stood up. “Dammit they have the back of the tr-” He reached for his gun and tensed up as his shoulder injury spiked. He quickly had his suit administer the medpack and he turned back to see Ned hanging out the door. He steps forward. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll go up top and try and get them off, you guys stay in here and keep gunning it.” 

“Ned.”

He didn't look back at the three of them already half out the door. “I'll hold on tight, I'll be fine.”

“Here.”

The man turned around and saw a flash of metal come towards him before he caught it in his human hands. It was the line gun. He looked up at Issac about to argue, taking in how much trust the man was putting into him, but he realised he didn't have time and simply nodded. He loaded up the weapon, used to watching Isaac do it. The gun hissed and crackled to life and he went out the door. He hefted himself out onto the roof of the train and started cutting away at the tentacle wrapped around the latch connecting the car to the top rail. He aimed and fired the line cutting the thing free. Luckily, it was a big target. Unluckily, the car lurched forward and he lurched with it. His back arms frantically punched into the metal of the car and slammed into the back of it. He would have dropped the gun at the impact, but his mind remembered it was Isaac’s gun and he wanted to give it back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why did you give him your gun?” Ellie was looking out the windows trying to gauge what was happening outside from the sparse windows. She wanted to open them to shoot out but that could also let more invaders in. If they broke through, then she would be ready. 

Isaac continued to work at the panel before leaning heavily once again on the thrust with a grunt. “I gave him a gun. If he turns I'll take care of it, don't worry. But I trust him. Just focus on-” The train lurched forward as if a rubber hand had snapped and they all stumbled as two sharp appendages punched through the back of the car.

Ellie pointed her gun at it. “The things are punching through.”

Isaac noticed one of the claws had red blood on it and the other sickly icor. He held out his hand. “No that's Ned. He has to hang on somehow.” He got out his ripper and turned to Ellie. “Make sure this thing keeps moving. I’m going to go up and help him.” Ellie moved to the controls and Stross curled in on himself farther.

Isaac opened the door and the wind whipped through the cabin as he engaged his grav boots and made his way out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ned held on tight as the car sped ahead and he felt the wind around him. He felt the car shift and looked up from where he had been huddled against the side to see Isaac stick next to him. His eyes moved to the tear in the suit and the glowing indicator of health on the back of his neck.

They both heard a horrible breaking sound and jerked before tuning to see the mass of tentacles following them across the line. Ned put his gun up on instinct but Isaac pushed it down. “Careful! Don't cut the rail.” Ned swallowed and nodded as he adjusted his stance so he was facing outward but still held fast by his backarms. Isaac moved to stand on the top of the car above him.

They fended off any tentacles that strayed too close to the car or too far away from the line as to be safe. They lost themselves in the rhythm of it before Ned clicked the trigger of his gun and nothing happened. It only took him a moment to realise he was out of ammo. He turned slightly upwards, yelling over the wind, thinning no doubt from some leak somewhere. “I don't think I can keep this up much longer. I’m out of ammo and I can't- ah!” Isaac used his blade to cut a tentacle that got too close to him, holding the spinning metal very close to the man's head. “Th-thank you. I can’t keep this up forever.”

Isaac hummed and looked around them, spotting a pair of blast doors in the distance covering the rail. He looked down at Ned, mask unperceivable. “I might be able to close the blast doors on it, but I'll have to go back into the car and time it right. Can you handle it alone?” He cut away another tentacle. These things never ended.

He grit his teeth and mandibles. “If you gave me more ammo.”

Isaac nodded at him and handed him several clips before opening the door back inside. “Just hold on.” He landed hard inside and shut the door. 

And Ned felt more alone with the rushing wind and the writhing mass of tentacles coming towards him then he had in that vent. He popped out the old cartridge, put in a new one, and gripped the metal tighter with his back legs. He just had to hold on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac made his way over to the console and Ellie moved out of the way without a word. He pulled out a diagnostic panel and replaced a few wires so that he could bypass the lock for the blast door and start it moving. He did some quick math in his head to figure out how to thread the needle (what was the farthest away he could be before hitting the button and what was the closest along with calculating the speed by how fast they were loving based on how quickly the evenly spaced beams around them passed). He rounded a few numbers and guessed a few things before realising he was just going to have to wing it like always and adjust the speed to make the timing fit, hoping that it would work. He connected the last link and a great screetcing and groaning of metal echoed through the vast corridor.

Ellie realised what he was trying to do and let out a simple “Oh god.” before leaving him to do this work. Stross’ eyes were flicking about the room looking at something neither of them could see. Ellie was pacing as her eyes looked at the windows once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ned was losing it. The gun wouldn’t reload fast enough to keep the tentacle away and he had to aim his shots carefully to get multiple in one shot. Some were coming at all angles that he couldn't quite reach well from where he was latched onto the side of the car. He finally scrambled carefully up to the top of the car. The wind pushed at him harder but the gravity helped him stay put better. He got down low to the top of the car as he made sure not to hit the rail. His anxiety spiked but he realised he couldn't do that right now. He couldn't lock up or run away. So he took a deep breath he only half needed now and zoned in. The regular clack and hiss of the line gun kept him focused. He only spared a few of his eyes to look at the doors in front of the car closing. They were getting closer. Too fast. The tentacle monster would follow them in entirely.

Luckily that was helped by the car slowing down. This did not help Ned however as he had to dodge several previously far away tentacles that we're now too close. Without thinking, he unattached one of his back arms to slash at it. It worked and he was able to get a handle on them with his one arm and the line gun but the extra pressure on his remaining embedded arm caused it to crack slightly and pull a larger tear in the roof of the cabin. He yelped before steading himself more.

More tentacles surrounded him and thankfully the car started to speed up again, but he still was forced to let go with his second limb and try to hold on with his human hand. The car's sudden acceleration didn't help this as even though he took care of the tentacle, he slipped quickly off of the back of the car and felt himself starting to fall.

He let out a cry as he tried to frantically get a grip on the car once more as it sped along. Just before he had fully slipped off, someone grabbed him. He looked up to see Ellie had punched out one of the windows in the back of the car to get him. It shocked him for a moment that she would grab him but he didn't have much time to marvel as his survival instinct kicked in and his back arms punched into the metal on either side of the window. He hoisted himself up so he was face to face with Ellie. “Thanks!” He yelled over the air.

She just grimaced at him and aimed past him at the mass, shooting her plasma cutter at it. “Just keep shooting!” He did as he was told and held off the window with one hand and leaned back to shoot at the thing. It caused his aim to suffer but it was better than nothing. Ellie said what he was thinking. “Are we almost there?”

He heard Isaac yell from the front. “Almost. Hang on. I’m going to gun it.”

He did as he promised and Ned's hand bent the metal he was holding as Ellie pitched forward almost falling through the window. She scrambled to catch herself on the smooth outside of the car but Ned quickly swiveled the hand he was shooting with to brace her front. In those few moments where neither of them were shooting, the tentacle made a last ditch attempt to grasp onto the car as they crossed through the doors. One shot through the window and another wrapped around one of Ned's back arms. He gave out a yelp as he felt himself pulled backwards. He tried to reach back blindly to free himself. “Ah!”  
Ellie reached out and grabbed his arm. He started slipping and on instinct dropped the gun he was holding and reached out the grab onto her. She was pulled forward sharply through the window of the car and as her feet started to lift off the floor Ned could see her eyes weighing the prospect of letting him go and honestly Ned couldn't really blame her at this point but at this time he really didn't want her to. Then the glowing blue slates of Isaac's suit appeared through the window and grabbed Ellie around the middle while engaging his grav boots to stabilize himself. “Isaac!” Both of them yelled.

“Hold on, the doors almost-” There was a great snapping sound and all of them fell backwards into the cabin of the monorail, Isaac unhooking the grav boots so he didn't snap his ankles before he fell over.

Ellie sat up first. “Did the doors close on it?”

Isaac sat up, letting his armor carry most of the weight. “No, we haven't passed through the doors yet it shouldn't have-”

Just then a few things happen. First, several tencials burst through the door and attempted to grab onto whatever it could. Then a shadow passed over them quickly as a loud clang of very large doors shutting rang out and all the tentacles started to writhe aimlessly. They all quickly moved to shove the tentacles out of the window and into the abyss under them, breathing heavily. “If the door didn't cut them off then why did they let go of Ned?”

Ned rolls his shoulder as he hissed. “It didn't.” They both turned to look at Ned and his missing limb, as well as the black fluid he was leaking out of his back.

Ellie looked disgusted and stepped back. “Oh shit.”

Ned ignored her as he saw a small tentacle they had missed in the corner and picked it up, sitting down slowly and tiredly on one of the chairs along the wall. He sighed deeply and took a bite out of it. Ellie immediately wretched. “Oh e-”

Issac put up his hand to stop her talking. “Just...let it go.” He made his way over and sat beside Ned, realising he had not actually sat down in a while. “We have a little bit before the next station. Let's take a break.”

Ellie looked conflicted before she sat beside Isaac and let her gun go limp in her hand. Even Stross seemed to take a deep breath as the sound of the monorails moving and the unsettling crunches of Ned filled the car.

“Sorry. I dropped your gun.”

Isaac reloaded his own gun. “It's fine. I can build another one.”

“Also Ellie, I know you don't like me but thanks for uh-”

She didn't look at him. “No problem. Thanks for not eating us.” She didn't say it jokingly.

Silence again as no one looked at each other.

“Ned.” Issac finally said breaking it after a few moments.

“Yeah.”

“You can see Stross’s hallucinations, right?”

He grimaced “Unfortunately.”

“Can they help us?”

It made Ned's head hurt more than usual. “Uh, it's a kid and a lady and they keep yelling at him. I think he murdered them. Or I mean, he could have not and it's just the hallucination talking.” Isaac tilted his head and hunched his shoulders in a way that made Ned feel it was most likely the former. “And it's mostly just the normal background noise about following steps and building the marker. There's also something about steps you have to follow and that old rhythm about sticking a needle in your eye.”

They all sat quietly as the more sane of them thought about what that could mean, the only sound being the subtle humm of the monorail and the unnerving squishing crunch of Ned eating. “Weird.” Isaac said as an understatement of the century as the three of them all leaned into each other and tried to just soak in the rare silence.

A half alien, a mechanic, a miner and a murderer all sat on a monorail speeding through a dead space station overrun with horrible ever morphing terrors trying to stop an anciently old and recently rebuilt marker from consuming everything, contemplating how a child's rhyme would solve it.  
It was more than weird.

But.

It was quiet for now.

And at least they weren't doing it alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to message me!  
> https://www.youtube.com/c/HawkScape  
> http://hawkscape.deviantart.com/


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